At around quarter to 8 we set off to Knock. The bus journey was tiring especially since a lot of us had been celebrating our results the night before. A couple of us slept on the way up and one person got travel sick. We arrived at around 20 past 10 and headed for the presentation room down near the cathedral. We were given name tags and were then put at different tables with different schools. We were welcomed by Michael MC Con.
We then met our first speaker, Fr Peter McVerry. He spoke to us about the homeless problem in Ireland and the different ways people can become homeless. He also talked to us about how and why he started the Fr Peter McVerry trust for the homeless. He told us many peoples stories that he had met over the past number of years. When he was finished, we had discussions round the table we were at, sharing our views. We then had a discussion in the room with everyone. 1 or 2 people were chosen to ask questions or go up on the stage to share their own views. After this we met our second speaker, Dr Cara Augustonborg. She spoke to us about Global warming and the crisis being caused by plastic bottles. We then discussed in our groups again and around the room. Again 1 person was chosen to go up on stage to share their views. We then had lunch. We walked around knock and went to the different shops. We looked the holy water dispensers which I thought were pretty cool. After lunch, we met our third speaker, John Lonergan, a former prison governor in Mountjoy. He spoke to us about helping in the community and that even only helping for 1 hour can make a huge difference. Like before we spoke in our groups and people were chosen to speak on stage. Our last speaker was 21 year old Joanne O’Riordan. She spoke to us about her life without limbs and how she copes. She was very funny, constantly popping jokes without meaning to be funny. She spoke to us about the robot being developed for her to help her do everyday things. Joanne’s speech was definitely my favourite and I am happy that we got to meet her. As before we spoke in our groups (we were back with our schools now), asked questions and again people were brought onstage to talk. We said our thanks and goodbyes after this and went home. We arrived home at around half 4. Overall, I really enjoyed my Knock experience. I learned a lot from what the speakers said and took a lot from them. For example, I learned about how transport in Ireland is changing dramatically. I also learned that homeless people come from all parts of society and for different reasons. |